As we prepare to celebrate a time of Thanksgiving tomorrow for all our many blessings. I think of those Pilgrims long ago who came to a new place so they could be free from religious persecution. What irony it is that here in my own "free land" religious persecution of the worst kind is now again rampant.
My heart goes out to the six Muslim clerics who were publicly discriminated against after praying their evening prayers before boarding a flight here in the Twin Cities. We must learn to put our fear and prejudice aside and treat others with love and respect for their individual rights if we are to honor the spirit of America!
I will pray for the person who passed a note in fear to the flight crew. I will pray for the flight crew who made a decision to take one action instead of another. I will pray for the Homeland Security personnel who govern the safety rules and will be reviewing this incident. And I will pray that in the spirit of the first Thanksgiving we will let faith, hope, and love, govern our thoughts and actions as we work to put aside our fears and doubts and learn to love and accept all people despite their differences from our cultural and religious experiences. When the Native Americans accepted the Pilgrims ate together, it was America's first lesson in multicultural acceptance.
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